PTA News

Welcome Back Coffee and Autumn Picnic

The PTA is pleased to be hosting two events very early on in the Autumn Term. On the first day of term, there will be a Welcome Back Coffee morning at Bramley Village Hall immediately after drop-off. Also, on Sunday 14th September, the Autumn Picnic takes place in the Senior School grounds from 12 till 2pm. Bring along some picnic food to share with your class and enjoy a glass or two of Pimms. The family ticket price of £10 includes all drinks and lots of fun activities for the children such as bouncy castles, Punch and Judy and face painting. If you can, please send in your slips and cheques before the end of this term. We look forward to seeing you at one or both of these events. Just space to mention that right at the beginning of term we will be a running a fund-raising sale of top quality flower bulbs so don’t buy any during the holidays and watch out for further details in September.

Some of the PTA reps

OUTDOOR GARDEN PROJECT

New play equipment is being added to the school grounds for all age groups. PPI are enjoying the new playframe in the Pre Prep garden. Musical instrumental and the stage have arrived in the woods. Recent arrivals include a playhouse made out of beautiful redwood, copper speaking tubes wrapped around the PE hut, toadstool-styled tables and chairs and much more.

We would like to say a big THANK YOU to all our parents who, through their support of PTA events, have enabled the PTA to fund the super new equipment.

MAY FAIR

Thank you to everybody for your enthusiasm, help and support for the May Fair.

The children look forward so much to the form stalls and I know that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes, helped by rotas of parent volunteers and teachers on the day. The addition of new stalls such as the ‘Good as New’ clothes stall, the gingerbread men decorating and the golf all helped to ring the changes.

The variety and quality of Commercial stalls in the courtyard, hall and gym gets better each year. The raffle prizes were impressive and the Gourmet Dinner made us a lot of money once again. The Cakes and Refreshments were as welcome as ever, but the addition of the BBQ was really well received.

The community spirit created is a huge part of the day, but there’s a fundraising element too. The Form Stalls made a superb contribution of £1,357 (with nearly half of this profit coming from your kindly donated children’s clothes). This feeds into our biggest May Fair profit to date of £5,669. Fantastic - thank you everyone!!!

Clothes Rail
Memory loss! A parent very kindly lent us (or possibly donated) a great tiered clothes rail that was used at the May Fair by the ‘Good as New’ clothes stall. Please could that parent contact Mrs Daniell in the office so we know whether to return it or use it in the Uniform Shop. Many thanks.

YELLOW MOON
Hopefully, you will all have a copy of the Yellow Moon Catalogue, which is full of crafty ideas about how to keep the children busy. If you choose to make an order, a portion of the proceeds are forwarded to the P.T.A.

Summer Term newsletter

Now that the Summer Term is underway, I would like to bring you up-to-date with the PTA News.

Our key event of the term will be the May Fair, which will be from 10a.m. until 1p.m. next Saturday, 10th May. I hope you all have this date penned into your diaries following the articles in Cat’s Eyes, information sheets, raffle tickets and cake plates which should now have emerged from your daughters’ bags! I’d like to thank especially three parents who have been helping with the organisation of the Fair who are not PTA Reps: the Form I mother, who has been organising the Commercial Stalls, another Form I mother, who has been arranging the Raffle and a Form I father, who has helped with the design and donated the printing of the programme, posters and other items. Our aim is for this event to be the major fund-raising event of the year. There are lots of form stalls, which should provide a fun-filled morning for the children. This year there will be Hook the Duck, Hoopla, Nail Painting, Cookie Decorating, a Lucky Dip, a ‘Good as New’ children’s clothes stall, a Coconut Shy, a Golf Game, Smash the Egg, a Chocolate Tombola, Fortune Telling and a Donut Game. Not forgetting yet-to-be-announced entertainment from the teachers… Please come along, with your family and friends, to enjoy the traditional fair atmosphere and to support your school.

One of the Pre-Prep girls rushing to find more bunny discs at the end of the spring term

The Summer Term will be rounded-off with the traditional Disco for UII and LIII, to celebrate the progression of the LIIIs to their next schools and the UIIs’ move into their final year at the Prep School. We shall also be helping to welcome new girls and their parents into the school at the ‘Meet Your Friends’ afternoons in early July. Second Hand School Uniform will be brought across to the Prep School gym for these afternoons and will be available for current parents to buy any items (including water bottles) for the next academic year from 3 p.m. onwards on Monday 7th July.

Last Term we hosted three successful events. In February we held a Jewellery Making Workshop. Over twenty Mums enjoyed a morning relaxing and making beautiful necklaces out of the fabulous beads that were on offer. We also had a great turnout for the Quiz Night in March. The questions were as light-hearted as promised and the ‘Bring Your Own’ approach to the catering and refreshments worked well. And to complete the Easter Term, the girls really enjoyed their annual Bunny Hunt in the school grounds.

The teachers have almost completed their purchases for the Garden Project from PTA funding. If you haven’t seen them already, why not have a look on the morning of the May Fair? Recent arrivals include a playhouse made out of beautiful redwood, copper speaking tubes wrapped around the PE hut, toadstool-styled tables and chairs and much more. Our Balance of Funds now stands at £8,164, boosted by a very healthy cheque for £2,900 from the Second Hand Uniform Shop (so please continue to hand in your items for sale).

None of this would be possible without the enthusiasm and effort of the Class Reps and committee members. I’d like to say thank you again to all the Reps for their fantastic teamwork this year. This is my last Newsletter to you; in the Summer, we are moving as a family to Denmark for the next three years, so I am handing over the role of PTA Chair. My supportive Vice Chair and Secretary, is also standing down. I am sure you will all extend a warm welcome to the new Chair.

It has been a pleasure to work with such an active group of parents and teachers and I hope that the PTA continues to supplement the lovely atmosphere and range of activities at St. Catherine’s Prep School.

With best wishes and sincere thanks to you all for your support,

PTA Chair

Collecting the reward at the end of the Bunny Hunt